NICE and cancer drugs - the facts
How many recommendations has NICE made?
Since 2000, when NICE started to produce cancer guidance, NICE has published 134 individual recommendations on cancer drugs in 89 technology appraisals.
Overall, 66% of all recommendations stated that the NHS should use these drugs in line with their marketing authorisation ('recommended'), or in specific circumstances ('optimised recommendation').
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Breakdown of decisions in published technology appraisals for anti-cancer agents.
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Recommendations for cancer appraisals
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1 March 2000 to 30 April 2012
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1 January to 30 April 2012
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STA
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MTA
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Total
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Yes
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23 (51%)
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53 (66%)
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76 (61%)
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4 (36%)
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Optimised
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4 (9%)
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2 (2%)
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6 (5%)
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- |
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Only in research
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2 (4%)
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6 (8%)
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8 (6%)
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-
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No
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16 (36%)
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19 (24%)
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35(28%)
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7 (64%)
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TOTAL
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45 (100%)
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80 (100%)
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125 (100%)
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11 (100%)
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STA, single technology appraisal: MTA, multiple technology appraisal
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n.b. 9 non-submission recommendations have been excluded.
Optimised recommendations
Not all patients with a particular condition benefit from a drug and some drugs only work really well for some patients or at a particular stage in a disease. That is why NICE targets the use of some new drugs. In this way, patients who can really benefit can get access to treatment and the NHS can spread its resources to provide other treatments and services, for cancer patients and for other diseases and conditions.
Much of the targeting of recommendations follows advice on safety and efficacy from the European Medicines Evaluation Agency, which licenses new drugs and provides them with their marketing authorisation.
Since March 2000, NICE has made 6 optimised recommendations for the use of anti-cancer drugs.
End of life
Drugs, especially those for cancer, which extend life at the end of life are very important and since January 2009, NICE has given special weight to them.
In 2009, NICE agreed new criteria for appraising drugs which can extend life for people with terminal cancer. Up to 30 April 2012, 25 pieces of guidance have been published where these new criteria were considered for 31 anti-cancer agents, of which 9 resulted in positive recommendations for use in the NHS.
The Appraisal Committee recommended lenalidomide for multiple myeloma, sunitinib for the first-line treatment of renal cell carcinoma and for unresectable and/or metastatic GIST, oral topotecan for small-cell lung cancer, trabectedin for soft tissue sarcoma and pemetrexed maintenance treatment for non-small cell lung cancer, trastuzumab plus cisplatin and capecitabine or 5-fluorouracil for HER2-positive metastatic gastric cancer (IHC3 positive subgroup only), pazopanib for renal cell carcinoma and azacitadine for myelodysplastic syndromes, chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia and acute myeloid leukaemia.
This page was last updated: 15 May 2012
